Uncooled microbolometer detectors are used in a wide variety of infrared or thermal imaging applications. Uncooled microbolometer pixels are vulnerable to changes in resistance and other damage when they are exposed to heat sources. Excessive heat fundamentally changes the response in the pixel and degrades the resulting image. Extreme heat sources, such as the Sun, can completely destroy the pixels. Conventional practice is to avoid direct exposure of an uncooled microbolometer detector to the Sun. If solar damage does occur, re-calibration of the detector may be necessary to obtain a usable image.